A British travel writer has been named among the 16 victims of a terrorist bomb explosion at a busy tourist cafe in Marrakech.

Peter Moss, 59, was at the Argana cafe in the popular Jamaa el-Fnaa square when a remote-controlled nail bomb was detonated at lunchtime.

A video released before the attack by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb reportedly claimed responsibility, with terrorism experts saying the group was one of several likely candidates.

Moss, a father-of-two, was a writer, broadcaster and comedian.

At the British Press Awards in 2004, while working for the Jewish Chronicle, he was celebrated as "one of the country's finest travel writers, with an unmatched eye for detail".

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: "While we do not yet know the exact cause of the blast, reports from the Moroccan authorities are that this may have been a result of terrorism. An act of this kind, causing the death of 16 innocent people, is cruel and wrong, and I condemn it in the strongest terms."

As investigations continued into the blast, the country's deadliest for eight years, Moroccan authorities said the bomb had been packed with nails and set off remotely and not by a suicide bomber.

Jamaa el-Fnaa square, next to the city's historic market area, draws crowds of tourists with its snake charmers, fire-eaters and tooth pullers.

Most of the dead were foreign nationals – including French, Dutch and Canadian tourists – and at least 23 others were injured by the explosion.

British ambassador Tim Morris has travelled to Marrakech to bolster the UK team dealing with the aftermath and Interpol has described the attack as "senseless and deplorable".

While police from both Morocco and Spain could be seen working in the wreckage, friends and family of the victims gathered at the city's Ibn Tofail hospital.

Mouhou Rachid, a cafe worker, said at least one of his co-workers had died and another was in hospital with serious injuries.

"The explosion was terrible. When I recovered consciousness I saw people picking up victims. My friend has injuries in the stomach, face and head."

Israel's foreign ministry said two of the victims, a man and a woman, were Jews living in Shanghai and that the woman apparently had Israeli citizenship.

The attack is the deadliest in Morocco since 12 suicide bombers killed 33 people in co-ordinated strikes in Casablanca in 2003.

The latest attack was a blow to Morocco's most important tourist city. Tourism is Morocco's biggest source of foreign currency and the second biggest employer after agriculture.

"We are going to work very hard so that this does not have an impact on tourism in Marrakesh," said Salaheddine Mezouar, the finance minister."To go to a country as a tourist and return dead is a terrible thing."

Fernando Reinares, a terrorism expert at Spain's Royal Elcano Institute, told RNE radio there were few doubts that jihadists were behind the attack.

"Morocco and its monarchy are a target for al-Qaida and for the north African groups that have been associated with al-Qaida."

The attack adds to the challenges facing Morocco's ruler, King Mohammed VI, as he tries to prevent the uprisings in the Arab world from reaching his normally stable kingdom.

He recently pardoned a raft of political prisoners, including some alleged militant Islamists.

The monarch has promised to reform the constitution to placate pro-democracy protesters. But more protests are planned for Sunday.

• This article was amended on 2 May 2011. The article merged the identity of two people named Peter Moss. This has now been corrected.